belong at school. That he should stay away. I heard the words freak, psycho, stalker, killer, guilty and any combination of them in conjunction with his name. Always in whispered tones. The hostility that Alec held for him was so intense I could feel it the moment Ben was within Alec’s sight. And yet, despite my asking, nearly begging, no one would tell me why, exactly. No one wanted to think about Ben, talk about Ben, or be anywhere near Ben McCaffey.
I was the anomaly. On our second day of class Mr. Schroeder had announced that we would be working in pairs periodically throughout the year. I had to wrap my feet around the legs of my chair that day to keep myself anchored in my seat for a reasonable amount of time. Being the new girl, with my only three friends in other classrooms, I had the ironic advantage of no one asking to be my partner. No one wanted to be Ben’s partner, either. So I had sat, impatiently waiting for most of the class to pair off. Then I’d slid my chair up to Ben’s desk.
“Neither of us has a partner,” I’d told him. “Can I please work with you?”
He had looked at me apprehensively, his gray eyes startled and wary.
“You’re going to hurt my feelings if you tell me you would rather work alone than work with me.” I smiled all the while. He’d agreed then, with a silent nod, to be my partner. And so the week began with my heavenly match made in the purgatory that was his high school hell.
At one point during the week Mr. Schroeder, whom I decided definitely held a raging case of favoritism for Alec, looked at me sympathetically. I had smiled sweetly as I inched closer to my partner who simply sighed but had given up on trying to scoot away.
Alec tried to stop me after class on the fifth day of school. It was the fourth day in a row we’d worked on nailing down plot, setting, characterization and perspective on one of Poe’s short stories.
“I can’t believe how much group work we have to do. What a bum deal for you to be stuck with that freak,” he told me as I sidestepped him. He tagged along, walking with me. “I don’t mind ditching Ty so I could partner with you.”
“Actually, I think you’re the freak,” I told him bluntly as we reached my locker. I had seen the way he treated Ben one too many times. I had no tolerance for it. “Ben was my first choice for a partner. I don’t want anyone else. And even if I did? It sure as hell wouldn’t be you.” I could hear the anger in my voice. I hoped he could too.
My locker was next to Kayla Andrews. Her friend Amy Watts had stopped to wait for her. Their eyes bulged as Alec’s face turned to stone. “Hey, I tried,” he said with a shrug as he sauntered away.
Kayla’s face was horrified. “Did you just turn down being partners with Alec so you could be partners with Ben? McCaffey ?” She stressed his last name to prove her disgust.
“Yes. And I would do it again in a heartbeat,” I said as I slammed my locker door shut.
“I know you’re new here,” Amy said cautiously, “but do you have any idea who he is? I mean, do you know what he did?”
They both looked at me as though they expected me to admit I was clueless, therefore allowing them to possibly forgive my colossal blunder.
“I know exactly who he is. I also know what you’re implying. But he didn’t do anything. He’s a nice guy. He’s incredibly smart. And I like being his partner.” I stomped away, not waiting for their response.
He was all business when it came to our assignments, yet not getting through them too quickly because then we might have free time to chat. He never allowed anything more personal than the standard, “How’s it going?”
I did see him smile once, just a small twitch at the corner of his lip, when I was scribbling down some notes and mindlessly mumbling Annabel Lee to myself. I couldn’t say he was friendly but at least things weren’t awkward. I didn’t feel uncomfortable as I had at the park.
That
I was the anomaly. On our second day of class Mr. Schroeder had announced that we would be working in pairs periodically throughout the year. I had to wrap my feet around the legs of my chair that day to keep myself anchored in my seat for a reasonable amount of time. Being the new girl, with my only three friends in other classrooms, I had the ironic advantage of no one asking to be my partner. No one wanted to be Ben’s partner, either. So I had sat, impatiently waiting for most of the class to pair off. Then I’d slid my chair up to Ben’s desk.
“Neither of us has a partner,” I’d told him. “Can I please work with you?”
He had looked at me apprehensively, his gray eyes startled and wary.
“You’re going to hurt my feelings if you tell me you would rather work alone than work with me.” I smiled all the while. He’d agreed then, with a silent nod, to be my partner. And so the week began with my heavenly match made in the purgatory that was his high school hell.
At one point during the week Mr. Schroeder, whom I decided definitely held a raging case of favoritism for Alec, looked at me sympathetically. I had smiled sweetly as I inched closer to my partner who simply sighed but had given up on trying to scoot away.
Alec tried to stop me after class on the fifth day of school. It was the fourth day in a row we’d worked on nailing down plot, setting, characterization and perspective on one of Poe’s short stories.
“I can’t believe how much group work we have to do. What a bum deal for you to be stuck with that freak,” he told me as I sidestepped him. He tagged along, walking with me. “I don’t mind ditching Ty so I could partner with you.”
“Actually, I think you’re the freak,” I told him bluntly as we reached my locker. I had seen the way he treated Ben one too many times. I had no tolerance for it. “Ben was my first choice for a partner. I don’t want anyone else. And even if I did? It sure as hell wouldn’t be you.” I could hear the anger in my voice. I hoped he could too.
My locker was next to Kayla Andrews. Her friend Amy Watts had stopped to wait for her. Their eyes bulged as Alec’s face turned to stone. “Hey, I tried,” he said with a shrug as he sauntered away.
Kayla’s face was horrified. “Did you just turn down being partners with Alec so you could be partners with Ben? McCaffey ?” She stressed his last name to prove her disgust.
“Yes. And I would do it again in a heartbeat,” I said as I slammed my locker door shut.
“I know you’re new here,” Amy said cautiously, “but do you have any idea who he is? I mean, do you know what he did?”
They both looked at me as though they expected me to admit I was clueless, therefore allowing them to possibly forgive my colossal blunder.
“I know exactly who he is. I also know what you’re implying. But he didn’t do anything. He’s a nice guy. He’s incredibly smart. And I like being his partner.” I stomped away, not waiting for their response.
He was all business when it came to our assignments, yet not getting through them too quickly because then we might have free time to chat. He never allowed anything more personal than the standard, “How’s it going?”
I did see him smile once, just a small twitch at the corner of his lip, when I was scribbling down some notes and mindlessly mumbling Annabel Lee to myself. I couldn’t say he was friendly but at least things weren’t awkward. I didn’t feel uncomfortable as I had at the park.
That
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